Taming the Camino before a Walkabout Down Under: the Alex Johnson Story

Monday, 1 October 2018

By Leigh O’Connor.

Imagine walking 11,000 km across five countries… just for
the fun of it! Former Perth builder Alex Johnson has not only strolled his way
through the Camino de Santiago in
Spain, but was so bitten by the walking bug he then went on to trek New Zealand
and Australia from top to bottom.

Alex Johnson stands at a vantage point on the Te Araroa, overlooking Lake Hawea and the Southern alps.

Alex, 30, says it is all about freedom – from the concrete
and technology that constantly surrounds us. Now back in Taranaki, working to
finance his next venture on America’s Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), he recalls
how it all began with a Martin Sheen movie, The
Way.

"I saw this film where Martin Sheen’s character walked the
Camino and something in me sparked I guess. I had always wanted to travel and
this idea of just simply walking across a country intrigued me,” he explains.
"I wanted freedom from nine to five, bills and all the stresses that come with
modern society.

"To escape hustle and bustle and the search for material
wealth. I wanted to step into the wilderness, reconnect with nature and get
back to a more primal state where what matters is survival – not comfort.”

Get back to nature he did, relearning to appreciate the
small things in life, like toilets, running water and rubbish bins - luxuries
we take for granted every day.

Alex originally planned to walk 1600 km from Le Puy-en-Velay
in Southern France to Finisterre on the West coast of Northern Spain. When he
finished this journey, he hadn’t quite exhausted his budget and had fallen in
love with walking, so continued south into Portugal and ‘strolled’ an extra 600
km before finishing up in Fatima, near Lisbon – a total of 2200 km over three
countries.

Known as the Way of
Saint James, the Camino is a network of pilgrim ways popular with hiking
and cycling enthusiasts and trekked by thousands every year. Alex says the most
enjoyable part of the trail was the community aspect, there were so many people
from all over the world and the number of incredible people he met on a regular
basis made for a very humbling experience.

"I had never experienced anything of this magnitude before,
the support network was great from people who were facing the same day-to-day
challenges and dealing with the same struggles. I met a great group of people
early on, who throughout the journey became very close friends.”

Alex stayed in hostels available to walkers along the way –
known as a Gite d’Etape in France and an Albegue in Spain – usually in dorm
rooms, but when he continued south into Portugal he bought a tent to try to
save on costs.

While in France, he met another walker who asked about the
trail across New Zealand. At that time, Alex had no idea it existed but did his
research and was introduced to Te Araroa (TA), a trail spanning
3000 km from Cape Reinga to Bluff.

"I loved my walk through Europe so much, I knew it wouldn’t
be my last – so naturally I figured I ought to check out my own backyard before
I looked elsewhere. I had been living in Western Australia for six years, so
hadn’t travelled much of New Zealand, walking it end to end seemed to me to be
the ultimate way to explore home.

"It was also going to be a wilder adventure than the Camino,
with no frequent accommodation along the way I would be camping in the wild
with civilisation, shops, food, supplies and showers much further apart. My
pack would be heavier, the terrain and weather tougher,” Alex explains.

Standing at the northern most part of Aotearoa, ready to
take his first steps on Te Araroa, Alex stumbled across a guy from Belgium
roughly his own age, who by chance was also there to hike Te Araroa. They got
chatting and the rest was history – Alex and Fred Van der Elst spent three and
a half months battling the elements together and hiking until they could hike
no more.

"We would pitch our tent, sleep then wake up the next
morning and do it all over again! During this time, Fred told me about his plan
to also walk the length of Australia... my first thought was ‘good luck with
that!’ But after having a lot of spare time to think, I asked Fred if I could
tag along and he was delighted with the prospect of having company. So, our
plan was born.

"Two complete strangers who met on a whim and ended up
walking 9000 km across two countries. It still baffles me to think about how
everything came together, but I couldn’t be happier about what we achieved and
would gladly say I gained a brother over those 15 months. Fred and I went
through some of the most challenging days of our lives together out there and
yet still never had even one argument… it was like the ultimate bromance right
from the start.”

The never ending red roads of the Cape York Peninsula.

So much so, Fred has named his first child – a baby girl –
Tanna Alex after his good mate!

The sheer size of Australia meant their next trek would
require them to cover double what they had in New Zealand. The vastness of the
areas they were travelling through was a huge part of the challenge… sometimes close
to 300 km stretches at a time without any opportunity to resupply with food and
other necessities.

"Not only did we have much more weight in our packs carrying
seven to eight days food, we would be walking further. We maintained an average
of 35 km a day to allow for the long hauls, which often meant walking from sunup
to sundown.

"Because of the wet monsoon season and unbearable heat of Summer
in the far North of the country, we had to begin from the Top End in Winter.
Water was much scarcer in areas like Cape York Peninsula adding to our weight
woes and the trail was not well-established like the Camino or TA,” he says.

Fred and Alex share a hand shake at South Point, Victoria, the southernmost point of the Australian mainland, after completing their journey together.

More commonly a horse trail than a walking trail, when you
take all that into account and throw a bunch of deadly and dangerous animals in
the mix – it’s just a recipe for a good time. He hasn’t kept a diary of the
exact number of shoes and band aids sacrificed during his walks, but Alex burnt
through four pairs of trail runners and two pairs of sandals in just Australia
alone.

They were joined on some parts of their journey by Alex’s
New Plymouth parents – property developer Nick and real estate guru Lynne.

"Over the past two and a half years, I have spent more than
half my life on the trail. That means birthdays, Christmases and everything in
between are often celebrated on my own (or with Fred) out in the
wilderness. Having my folks join me
periodically throughout these treks has been awesome.

"Sometimes it’s just nice to see a friendly face when you’ve
been bush for a long time, to have my parents there to catch up on everything
that’s been going on at home with friends and family, is massively uplifting
for the spirits after battling through a heavy slog.”

Asked what was the funniest moment along the way, Alex was
candid with his reply:

"Honestly, funny moments were happening all the time. You
really learn to laugh about the situation you are in rather than cry… otherwise
you would be doing a lot of crying! The ridiculousness of our situation would
often cause Fred and I to bust out in hysteric laughter and the lack of
personal hygiene was quite amusing”

Alex managed to get 28 warm showers in 192 days, sometimes
not showering for up to two weeks at a time, while sweating until he dropped –
day in and out for months on end.

"This was probably more amusing to us, than anyone who came
too near us!”

"I find inspiration everywhere I walk… every amazing
sunrise, beautiful beach, lush forest, every incredible mountain range. It all
keeps me inspired to keep walking and discover what is over the next hill.

"Over the past three years I have downsized my lifestyle,
ridding myself of mostly all material possessions and financial
responsibilities. There is no house, no mortgage, no car payments or loans and
no girlfriend (this is negotiable!) to tie me down. This minimalism leaves me
free to save my pennies and so far self-fund all my past three walks.”

Finally, we asked Alex where will it end?

"If before this had all begun, you told me I would go on to
walk 11,000 km across five countries, I would have said you are insane. But
here I am and that’s exactly what has happened. As for where it will end, at
this stage I really have no idea. I can tell you for certain that unless
something terrible happens on the PCT next year, it won’t be my last!

"I have a few other ideas in the back of my
mind. One step at a time…”